life curation · relaxation

All About Tea . . .

Have you all been following me on Instagram? If so, then you’ve seen that I’ve been posting daily tea pictures ever since I found out that January is National Hot Tea Month (Southern Season said so!)

I’m a tea enthusiast so I’ve been having a ball with the tea theme. I’ve been challenging myself to post a different tea every day (only one day missed, and not because I didn’t drink tea, but because I simply forgot to take a picture!) And, since I’m also a tea hoarder, it looks like I’ll be able to get through the month of January with no tea duplicates (and no, I didn’t have to purchase any new tea to make it happen!)

allfreedownload

(photo from All Free Download)

Did you all know there are tea consultants that you can employ to help you with selecting tea? Yes, there are experts that write about, teach about and work within the complex and beautiful world of tea. One of my personal favorite tea consultants is Jo Johnson, though, I didn’t learn about Jo through tea organizations or events. I saw her in this incredible video that discusses aging. Every woman in the video is striking, beautiful and vibrant, but there’s something about Jo’s presence that pierces your soul and holds your imagination captive. She *looks* like the kind of woman that floats around in her workshop, dispensing custom blended teas while chatting about adventures during her younger years and sharing invaluable life lessons.

Jo’s expertise allows her to instruct her clients on how to best pair different teas with appropriate foods, and she has the credentials to prove her capabilities. She also connects “avid tea enthusiasts with buyers & sellers of unique product offerings”. So if you’re looking for a rare and special tea, she’s the one to contact. You can visit her website here:

A Gift of Tea

I hope you all join in on the National Hot Tea Month festivities! After all, it only comes once a year!

Until tomorrow, take care.

luxury · style

Affordable Ways to Wear The Lastest Jewelry Trends

Luxury London recently shared 7 Jewellery Trends for 2018: From Waterfall Earrings to Avant Garde Pearls. I am excited for what kind of unique interpretations we’ll see this year. The article focuses on luxury jewelers that are creating this pieces, but I took some time to find some affordable versions of these trends. You can check out my recommendations below. Enjoy!

Shoulder Skimming Earrings

Going Green

       

Extra Long Necklaces

Pick-N-Mix Earrings

         

Modern Pearls

          

Punk Accents

Statement Cuffs

         

I’m really enjoying the green gemstones as well as the fresh take on pearl jewelry. Do any of you currently have jewelry that fits into one of these trend categories? Let us know in the comments below!

wine

Wine Collectors Rejoice!

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Sotheby’s London is starting 2018 off with a bang! Their first wine sale of the year will feature nearly 400 bottles of rare and fine wines. The auction house has titled this sale, “A Great Collection From a Secret Grotto from a Northern European Connoisseur“. With a title like that, who wouldn’t want to participate?

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Serena Sutcliffe, MW, describes this enchanting collection as follows (you can read more of her thoughts in the catalogue for this incredible sale):

“In the dark days of winter, it takes a treasure trove of truly joyous wines
to bring a smile to the face – and this is just looking at them rather than
drinking them. Contemplation of mouth-wateringly beautiful bottles brings
immediate memories, as well as hopes of meeting these wines again, which
is more than possible for you, the wine-loving client. You literally can smell
them and taste them when you see them in the cellar, or on the written page
– they come to life in all their dimension and diversity. This is a collection
that displays some of the greatest wine-making talent of our days which,
on reflection, might well be on unrivalled top form in the last few decades.
These years have shown a glittering balance of technical know-how with
enormous human skill, driven to its peak by pride in the profession and
critical competition. It is the consumer who has benefited.

Above all, this collection puts the greatest vinous gems of France under
the spotlight. It is clear that the wines were chosen by someone with
remarkable gastronomic and wine knowledge.”

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The wines range from the luxurious but affordable to the truly exquisite.  On the lower end of the estimate spectrum, a Chateau Lafite 1994 is expected to fetch anywhere between $400 and $500 USD; for the most serious collectors, a Petrus 1995 is expected to soar anywhere between $21,000 and $30,000 USD.

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This sale is going to be spectacular! Too bad I won’t be anywhere near London at the end of the month: otherwise, I’d definitely attend. The sale occurs on January 24, 2018, at 10:30 GMT in London. If you can attend, I highly encourage you to do so!

 

(all photos courtesy of Sotheby’s)

hollywood glamour · luxury

Baubles, Hollywood Style

Have you all ever wished you could own a little bit of Hollywood memorabilia? Even if the memorabilia was a replica, doesn’t it still sound fun to inject a little bit of that glamour into your daily life?

I know I LURVE all things Old Hollywood (hence the Hollywood Glamour series). So I was super excited to share The Hollywood Collection, a website that specializes in recreating jewelry worn by stars from the first half of the 20th century.

I came across this website several years ago, when I was regularly searching for clothing, accessories, makeup, and all other things inspired by Old Hollywood. I admire not only the beauty but the apparent craftsmanship of the jewelry: these pieces are recreated with painstaking accuracy.

I’m still deciding which piece I want to buy: they’re all so gorgeous! Here are some of my favorites:

mmearring

Marilyn Monroe earrings

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Marilyn Monroe bracelet

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Veronica Lake ring

bdwatch

Bette Davis watch-brooch

Have any of you purchased from The Hollywood Collection? Let me know in the comments below!

 

beauty · luxury

Review: KoyVoca Mini-Haul

After trying KoyVoca’s incredible Hi Life Highlighter in $1,000,000,000 Babe, I was eager to try some more of their products. I initially reviewed a few of their items in this post, but I really wanted to try their foundations and lipsticks. So I ordered two of the Classic Cream-to-Powder foundations in the shades Savannah and Mali. I also ordered the Nude Perfection lipstick in Vanity.

For starters, my products arrived fast, as in, less than a week. Kudos to KoyVoca for consistently getting their products out quickly! Next, I squealed when I saw the package: the products came in a gorgeous, festive envelope. Can we get into this shiny red packaging?

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Next, I was impressed by the size of the foundation compacts. There is a lot of product in them! These also have really nice mirrors in the interior of the compact.

Wrappers on, wrappers off

 

(left, Savannah, right, Mali)

I’ve swatched the products below. Can you tell which foundation is Savannah and which is Mali? I’ll give you a hint: Savannah has neutral undertones and Mali is warm-toned. In person, I could clearly see that one foundation was warmer than the other.

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I was really glad to see that Savannah (the shade that most closely matches the skin on my face, top swatch) is truly neutral: not too warm or too cool. Mali (bottom swatch) will be perfect during the summer, when my skin gets a bit warmer toned (even though I don’t necessarily tan every summer).

The product picked up easily with a swipe of my finger, though they work best with sponges (I wish the compacts came with sponges! Oh well.) I actually applied Savannah with a flat top powder brush and it buffed into my skin perfectly. It looked like my skin but better!

Now these are cream-to-powder foundations, so I was surprised that I had to apply powder on top of them to mattify the finish. Normally, cream-to-powders dry down and look flawless, but these still had a bit of shine to them. No matter: a good mattifying primer and a light application of translucent powder does the trick.

Next, I tried the Nude Perfection lipstick in Vanity. KoyVoca has only a few lipsticks, and each of them are designed to flatter women with deeper skintones. Vanity was one of the deepest shades available and looked like it would be a gorgeous hue, so I got it. I wasn’t disappointed.

First, the tube is magnetic, so the top of the lipstick tube is extra secure (it’s unlikely that the top will just “pop off” while in your purse). Next, the lipstick has a pleasant smell. It’s difficult to describe, but it doesn’t reek of the cheap chemicals that can occasionally be smelled when purchasing inexpensive lip products. And then there’s the color.

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This gorgeous shade looks like a grown up nude hue on me. I love it! It’s moisturizing, smells good and looks great. It’s been my go-to “throw it on and go” shade. It may even be taking the place of my Liya Nude, since Vanity is a richer hue with a little more red to keep it from being a “flat” brown.

Overall, this KoyVoca mini-haul was a hit! I have 3 products that I know I’m going to enjoy using over the next several months. The prices are reasonable ($10 for each foundation compact and the lipstick is also $10), and the quality is great! I still highly recommend that you give KoyVoca a try!

hollywood glamour · style

Affordable Hollywood Glamour Series

lovethoseclassicmovies

Dorothy Dandridge, the embodiment of all things glamorous

Once upon a time, I used to cruise the internet in search of any and all things vintage (I still do this, actually). I drew a great deal of inspiration from the glamorous looks worn by Hollywood stars from the first half of the 20th century. They looked so effortlessly luxurious, perfectly coiffed and naturally elegant. I loved everything about how these doyennes of the silver screen presented themselves for the public. They cared about what they wore and who saw them.

biography

The incomparable Hedy Lamarr

When you look at photos of classic actresses, you can’t help but think, “Wow they look great”. They had the benefit of the Hollywood style machine, combing over every inch of their personal appearance to ensure that they looked picture perfect at all times. But even though we know they had LOTS of help, many of us still enjoy the possibility of recreating some of these looks RIGHT NOW.

imdb

The perfectly styled Veronica Lake

I can’t say that I’ve reached that level of dedication, but I aspire to it. As a result, I want to share some of the websites and other goodies that I find help to cultivate a glamorous image.

pinterest

Gene Tierney, an effortless beauty

Now I know that glamour isn’t for everyone, and even for those that are interested in it, it’s not something that they want to employ every day. But for those that do want to dip their toes into the glamour pool, this will be an easy catalog of glamorous indulgences that can be referred to whenever you need to tap into your most stylish self.

thedyingmovierace

The radiant Theresa Harris

So as part of this series, I’ll share posts about makeup, clothing, jewelry, diet, books, and documented daily routines of stars of yesteryear. This is all about creating a more stylish existence for women that are ready to glam up their day-to-day existence. Glamour is fun: let’s all play with it!

nndb

The timeless beauty of Merle Oberon

I hope you all enjoy!

(Photos courtesy of Pinterest, NNDB, Biography, The Dying Movie Race, Love Those Classic Movies and IMDB)

 

 

beauty

The Ordinary Available At Sephora.com

Christmas came early, darlings! The Ordinary is now at Sephora.com, so now you can buy these inexpensive-yet-luxurious products while racking up Sephora points.

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Quick warning for you: Sephora isn’t stocking The Ordinary’s entire line. Currently, only 18 products are available, though these are some of the most potent and popular products. The Ordinary’s foundations are not included with those 18 products, so if you like their color cosmetics, you will still have to go through the Deciem website.

One new thing that is available through Sephora is The No-Brainer Set, which has three of The Ordinary’s popular products: The Ordinary’s Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA, Granactive Retinoid 2% Emulsion, and “Buffet”. The set is $29, which is less than the cost of buying each of these products separately.

I’m pleased to say that Sephora has maintained the low prices that The Ordinary is known for, and I’ve already placed my first order! Check it out, and see if your favorites from The Ordinary are now available through Sephora!

luxury · wine

Adventures in Enology: Wine School, Round 2

A few months ago, I mentioned an awesome FREE Wine Tasting class on Coursera. If you missed out on the course previously, I have good news for you: the course reopened this week! I’m re-registering for it, since I only completed about 50% of it during the last session. This time, I’m determined to complete it!

all free download

(photo courtesy of All Free Downloads)

Though the course is free, it requires the purchase of wine, glasses and food for the exercises. I’m so committed to completing the course this time that I’ve already ordered some of the items that will be needed in the upcoming weeks. I hope you all join me in taking this free Wine Tasting course. Of course, if you aren’t interested in learning more about wine, you can always check out the many other free courses available on Coursera.

luxury · style

Affordable Cashmere? Yes Please!

Happy Monday, friends! It’s feeling more and more like winter with each passing day. As much as I hate to let summer go, I realized that I needed to put away my lightweight blouses and bring out my cozy sweaters and scarves. I must admit, I was excited to bring out my cashmere sweaters: I love the colors (deep raspberry and lime green) and feel of my sweaters. Not to mention, using Dryel has kept them looking incredible.

 (This is great for keeping your cashmere in tiptop shape)

I’ve had these sweaters since last year, when I decided it was time to invest in some nicer wardrobe pieces. I found a great place for getting cashmere for less than $50 a sweater (feel free to double check the prices: I was hard pressed to find cashmere sweaters in the $70 range). I purchased my sweaters from Stein Mart, which had lots of different colors and cuts, starting at less than $40 per sweater. If you have an eBates account, you can even get cashback on your purchase, bringing your cost down even more.

(Boatneck and v-neck are just two of the necklines offered in Stein Mart’s cashmere sweaters)

This season has different shades from last year, but there is still a good variety to choose from. If I wasn’t saving my coins, I’d definitely buy a couple more sweaters: the prices are spectacular! You can check out the sweaters here. If you know any other places that have affordable cashmere, let me know in the comments below!

luxury · style

Dreaming of Jewelry

I wanted a light and fun post because I’m still enjoying the remnants of snow from yesterday. Here are some of my favorite Instagram accounts that feature all sorts of glamorous jewelry:

Champagne Gem: All manner of gorgeous jewelry, especially diamonds. Check out this 110-ct. diamond featured on their Instagram page:

Christie’s Jewels: Heirloom quality jewelry offered by Christie’s, the famous auction house. Here’s a link to one of my favorite pieces that was recently featured on their Instagram page:

Frank Everett: SVP of Sotheby’s Luxury Division, connoisseur of all things expensive and swoonworthy. The sapphire bracelet recently shown on Frank’s page is the kind of thing art deco dreams are made of:

Josh Levkoff Jewelry: Custom made jewelry with flawless stones and timeless settings. What more could you want?